Tennis: British No 1 Heather Watson into Hobart International semi-finals

British No 1 Heather Watson continued her impressive form going into next week's Australian Open by advancing to the semi-finals of the Hobart International.

Watson followed up her victory over fifth seed Sloane Stephens with a 7-6 (7-0) 6-2 win over Italian ninth seed Roberta Vinci and has yet to drop a set in the tournament.

The world No 49 served three aces and won 76 per cent of points on her serve in a hard-fought opening set before racing through the tie-break without dropping a point.

And the statistics were even more impressive in the second, Watson sending down five aces and claiming 84 per cent of points behind her first serve as she broke Vinci three times on her way to victory in an hour and 47 minutes.

Watson will face American Alison Riske in the last four after the eighth seed beat second seed Zarina Diyas 6-3 6-0.